Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

tablets niche devices? ouch. i hope that was the reporter talking, not the nokia exec...

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

Answer: it is not in quotes so it is the reporter. Stop spreading nonsense... ;)

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

Which boils down to:

"They could use Linux on their phones" ... which we already knew :-)

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

I have no idea how the 850MHz frequencies are/were handled.

What I know is that the 1700MHz frequency had to be obtained via auction. And I'm assuming the same is true of the 1900MHz frequency (I'm happy to be proven wrong about that). AT&T won the latter. T-Mobile won the former.

I never blamed Nokia (I had a typo to that effect in the original message, but I quickly edited it out).

And I stand by my assertion that it's the FCC/US-Gov's fault, and not T-Mobile's.

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

AT&T used to possess significant 1900 spectrum in addition to their core 850. When they reconsolidated, much of it had to go to T-Mo US. I hear there are still spots of AT&T 1900, but I've never been able to access any of them.

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

T-mobile doesn't have any 850MHz equipment of their own, but they have 850MHz roaming agreements with AT&T, Centennial, and others. (Actually, it looks like they have a roaming agreement, in the US, with only one little network in Texas, which in turn has agreements with everyone else.) These agreements, in general, are like peering agreements. They may be free, if similar amounts of traffic go both ways, or they may cost one company (the one that loads the other's networks more) some money. I don't know details on any of the 850MHz deals; they may be cash-for-roaming, or they may permit roaming (by customers with 1900MHz terminals) onto T-mobile, with or without additional payment.

Now if you don't have your own (3G) network for others to roam on, an agreement to use AT&T's 3G will cost you lots of money, and you're depending on someone else to continue providing all 3g service; if AT&T wants a price increase, you go with it or your customers don't get data. While using the only other nation-wide GSM network is a reasonable way of augmenting coverage, relying on it for your main network is not the way to seriously compete with them.

While I don't necessarily agree with your suggested approach the FCC should be taking, I definitely agree it's the gov't's fault, not T-mo's.

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

well, if I didn't have a tablet, I'd definitely like the N97... but I wouldn't think of it as a serious pocket computer, more of a very advanced mobile phone/multimedia device.

all I can hope is that the tablet hardware developers get to talk to the phone hardware developers and raid their hardware designs for the best bits.

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

*sighs*

*goes back to holding his breath*

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

Then how'd those crazy Europeans pull it off? Europeans don't need a separate phone for each country.

Re: N900 release tomorrow?
 

roaming agreements, and making sure that neighboring nations do not have overlapping channels in the border areas?